5th Annual Milan Dragway Diesel Event

The 5^th annual DNR Customs Outlaw Diesel event fell on June 20, 2015 at the Milan Dragway in Milan, Michigan, about 50 miles outside of Detroit. With humble beginnings as a dyno event with around 300 people in attendance—the annual event has doubled in size each year, adding drag racing to the schedule in 2014 and continuing to build on that success. Despite threatening weather and overcast skies throughout the day, the event was a huge success with an estimated crowd of more than 3,000 people in attendance to take in action on the dragstrip, on the dyno, in the pits and enjoy the huge throng of amazing diesel trucks in the show-n-shine competition. The husband and wife team of Derek and Nicole Rose along with their team of dedicated DNR Customs staff and volunteers kept the show running smoothly throughout the day and into the early evening.

Lavon Miller put down over 1,500 hp on the Reality Check mobile chassis dyno after making several mid 10-second passes down the Milan drag strip, proving his 2004 Dodge has the right stuff to compete with just about any diesel truck in the country.

DYNO COMPETITION

The morning started out with a long line of enthusiasts waiting to sign up for a chance to run on the rollers of the Reality Check mobile chassis dyno operated by the Dan’s Diesel Performance crew out of Marengo, Illinois. By 10:00 am, all of the available dyno slots were full with a total of fifty-six competitors running their trucks across the dyno making more than 35,000 cumulative horsepower! Forty-two of the trucks made more than 500 hp, with nineteen cracking the 600 hp barrier and all of the top ten trucks making more than 800 hp: including the top six trucks, which made more than 1,000 hp. Among those 1,000-plus-hp trucks were a Ford, four Dodges, and the lone Chevy of Dmitri Millard taking the top spot with a dyno run of nearly 1,900 horsepower.

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In a crowded field of show-n-shine competitors, these three stood out and took the top three spots. From left to right: Anthony Karascewski took first place with his ultra-clean Dodge; Trevor Selinger’s custom painted Ford was awarded second place, and Jacob Neuenschwander’s custom painted Dodge earned third place.

DRAG RACING

In addition to the action on the dyno, spectators were free to roam through the pits as well as the manufacturers display area and a large field of show-n-shine trucks featuring some truly stunning trucks. Of course, the drag racing action on the strip was also a big draw for the spectators that crowded the pit side grand stands for much of the day. The track was experiencing some growing pains with their newly upgraded timing and scoring system that prevented the scoring lights from displaying times and speeds at the end of the track, making it harder for the fans to follow along, but they still enjoyed the fast paced diesel action in the large ET Bracket Class and the smaller 12.0 Index Class, as well as a wide variety of test and tune racers and the fast exhibition passes by the Open Class competitors.

The ET Bracket class final round came down to the Lee brothers with Michael and his Dodge taking the win over Matthew and his Chevy.

There was some mechanical carnage on the track, including an oil down on the top end of the track when an oil plug came loose on a competitor’s truck, as well as another truck that dropped its front driveshaft onto the track surface. But the big one of the day came from Norm Jurachel’s 6.4L Ford that blew apart the driver side of his front axle, breaking both ball joints and the U-joint leaving the corner of the truck hanging precariously over the track and putting a stop to the racing action for over an hour, while the owner and a few friends used floor jacks to limp the truck on three wheels off the racing surface. Robert Joachin took home the win in the 12.0 Index Class in a bye run after Jurachel broke and Michael Lee beat his brother Matthew to the line in the ET Bracket class.

From left to right: Derek Rose, Dmitri Millard, Ryan Milliken and Lavon Miller. The gents gather together to settle a bet that Millard would not win the dyno competition. As you can see, Rose, Milliken and Miller have to back up their bet and Millard went home with an extra $3,000 cash in his pocket.

Dmitri Millard took the top honors on the dyno with his 2003 Chevy making 1,879.4-horsepower, but he did fall a little short of Miller for top torque honors with both trucks delivering over 2,300 lbs-ft. of torque to the rollers.

Anthony Reams was another one of the Open Class competitors that ran into trouble putting together solid back to back passes throughout the day, but when the truck was working right, it was fast.

MORE TO COME

In continuing to build on the current success of the past DNR Outlaw Diesel events, the DNR team has already set the date for the 2016 event to take place on September 10, 2016. The 2016 event will feature two dynos so that they will not have to turn away any competitors. Drag racing, show-n-shine competitions, bikini contests and the new addition of sled pulling will round out the competition. If you are in the Detroit area, mark the date on your calendar and keep your eye out for the Diesel World team. Whether you’re a spectator or competitor, we’d like to take in the diesel fun with you. DW